TALLAHASSEE — In conjunction with the day set aside during American Education Week to honor education staff professionals, the Florida Education Association (FEA) today announces the launch of a new digital advertising campaign promoting the contributions of these essential public school employees.
“We want to lift up our education staff professionals for the great work they do every day. They deserve it,” said FEA President Andrew Spar. “Bus drivers, paraprofessionals, food service workers, custodians, administrative staff and other support employees are fundamental to the education of Florida’s children and the functioning of our schools.”
Unfortunately, school districts across the state continue to struggle to hire enough employees to serve our students. Florida has a massive shortage of both support staff and teachers. In August 2022, the FEA counted a total of 10,771 advertised vacancies on district websites, with 6,006 for teachers and 4,765 for education staff professionals.
As we look ahead to the next legislative session, FEA calls on state lawmakers to make addressing the teacher and staff shortage a top priority. Public schools must be able to retain and recruit the staff and teachers our students need. Part of the solution lies in providing fair, competitive pay for all school employees. Read more about solving the staffing crisis here.
American Education Week runs Nov. 13-19. Each day of the week has its own theme, with Wednesday officially tagged as Education Support Professionals Day. For more information on American Education Week, visit the FEA website.
FEA’s digital advertising campaign honoring support staff will begin running in Central Florida during Thanksgiving week. Ads will be distributed through digital platforms such as YouTube, and through social media. View the first ads in the series in both English and Spanish.
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CONTACT: Joni Branch, joni.branch@floridaea.org, (850) 201-3223
The Florida Education Association is the state’s largest association of professional employees, with 150,000 members. FEA represents PreK-12 teachers, higher education faculty, educational staff professionals, students at our colleges and universities preparing to become teachers and retired education employees.
